Canvas Design Best Practices

Academic & Instructional Innovation

Faculty follow the Canvas course design checklist and use A&II resources as a guide for improving their courses. A&II staff will be available for consultation as needed.

Faculty can attend Canvas course design workshops provided by A&II for their program to help establish course consistency.

Fall2015

Fall2016

Program leaders determine the extent to which their program will apply additional design best practices beyond the LMS Use Policy requirements.

Faculty can analyze the state of their courses using a course design checklist and identify areas needing improvement.

TIMELINE

For Students• Ease of use • Student centered learning

For SMU Programs and the University Overall• Continuity projects professionalism• Easy access and understanding for faculty reviews

and accreditation• Reduces likelihood of legal action

For Faculty• Efficient course management and grading• Fewer student questions/disputes• Course site verification and maintenance • Student centered learning• Meets LMS Use Policy requirements

BENEFITS

Make a Great First Impression 1

Create a Course That’s Easy to Navigate2

Make It Easy For Students to Find Everything

3

Ensure Students Know What to Expect4

Keep Students Informed and Engaged5

Five Best Practices For A Well-Designed Canvas Course

Make a Great First Impression

Students feel welcome Students see where to go and what to do first

A relevant image begins to engages students

1

These five navigation tabs are consistent

Files, Pages, and unused navigation tabs are hidden from student view

Create a Course That’s Easy to Navigate2

Link to course components, files, pages, URLs

Make It Easy For Students to Find Everything

Content is organized into Modules by week, topic, or unit

All resources needed to complete the Module are included and sequenced

3

• Syllabus document is found in the Syllabus area• Assignments are found in the Assignments area• Grades are found in the Grades area

Make It Easy For Students to Find Everything

Files have consistent and descriptive names

Content is published once and linked to it to avoid duplication or errors

3

Do You Know?

When an Assignment (Assignment, Quiz, graded Discussion) is created from or linked to a Module, where else does it automatically appear?

A. Syllabus

B. Assignments

C. Grades

D. Calendar

E. All of the above

Content is published once and linked to.

Ensure Students Know What to Expect

Downloadable pdf made available

Assignment Groups show how grades are weighted

4

Assignments appear in Syllabus area automatically

Ensure Students Know What to Expect

Rubric with grading criteria informs students how they will be graded

4

A Canvas Assignment with a Canvas Rubric must be created in order to align Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) on the Rubric

Ensure Students Know What to Expect

The Gradebook communicates and centralizes grades for the student

4

Assignment Group weighting appears in Grades area

Keep Students Informed and Engaged5

Announcements inform students of events and news items not already covered by automatic notifications

Discussions engage students with each other

Canvas has several types of automatic notifications to help with course communication

Academic and Instructional InnovationSupporting Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Tanya Knoop

Christine BrozBeverly Saar

Elba RiosBrian GothbergDanny Grobani

Questions?